Archbald man helped provide infrastructure for Army operations in Vietnam

photos by Butch Comegys / Staff Photographer
Archbald resident and Army veteran Manney Griffin is senior vice commander at Hricak-McAndrew American Legion Post 869 in Archbald. He served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969 with the U.S. Army Engineer Construction Agency in Vietnam.

Mr. Griffin joined the Army in December 1966, after dropping out of Scranton Technical High School. While in the service, he earned his GED.

At the end of 1966 and with the Vietnam War at full blast, he decided on his own to join the Army, seeing it as a needed corrective to what, until that point, had been an aimless youth.

"I felt like I wanted to do something that would make me grow up," the Archbald resident said. "It took me from being a boy and made me a man."

Indeed, the Army made Mr. Griffin grow up fast, especially during the year he spent in the jungles of Vietnam beginning in December 1968.

Stereotypes of the Vietnam War tend to bring to mind grunts avoiding landmines and dodging shrapnel, grenades and bullets in the bush, never knowing when the next onslaught from the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army might come.

But there were other brave souls carrying out different yet crucial objectives to the war effort. Among them were Mr. Griffin, who built infrastructure for the U.S. Army Engineer Construction Agency in Vietnam, or USAECAV.

Mr. Griffin made it through his tour in one piece, though not completely unscathed. Years later, he developed neuropathy as a result of his exposure to Agent Orange, the herbicide used by the military to defoliate the jungle.

Still, he considers himself "one of the lucky ones."

"I was too young to know why I went. I just went, and I didn't question it. I went because I got orders to go," said Mr. Griffin, 65, on a recent day at Archbald's Hricak-McAndrew American Legion Post 869, where he serves as senior vice commander.

Teen soldier

A Scranton native, Mr. Griffin's parents died when he was a boy, so he and his siblings were split up among their aunts.

He was a good athlete but a bit of a rabble rouser, and not much of a student. At the end of his freshman year, he dropped out of Scranton Technical High School.

His aunt made it clear that she was not intent on seeing him spend the rest of his teen years "hanging out on street corners."

She wanted him to enlist, and so he did, on Dec. 10, 1966.

The Army sent him to Fort Knox, Ky., for basic training, then to signal corps school at Fort Dix, N.J.

From there, he went to engineer's school at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

"There, I learned everything. Electrical work, plumbing, carpentry. It was like a utility course," said Mr. Griffin, who received his GED through the Army.

He was good with his hands, so the work came relatively easily to him. Indeed, the military had served its purpose, giving him much needed structure and discipline, and a true sense of purpose.

"I thank God for the Army," he said. "Because I think if it wasn't for the Army, I wouldn't be the man I am today. It was the best thing for me."

Subhead

Mr. Griffin was home on leave and nearly two years into his service upon finally getting his orders to head to Vietnam on Dec. 9, 1968.

He arrived in Long Binh, then was sent to Chu Lai to meet up with his crew from USAECAV. A couple of weeks later, on Christmas morning, he was singing carols with them around a little tree decorated with paper ornaments.

"And you'd hear all these rounds going off, and tracers and stuff," he said. "I was crying then. I was scared from the time I got there until the time I left."

The crew worked in Chu Lai for a spell, then was sent to other parts of the country, like Da Nang and Quang Tri.

Their work was straightforward, yet demanding and crucial to the Army's objectives. From early morning to early evening, they built and installed all the things the military needed to function in the countryside - roads, bridges and the small, utilitarian huts known as "hooches."

"We'd do it all," said Mr. Griffin, who eventually rose to the rank of specialist E-4. "Without us, they wouldn't have had any power in Vietnam. No roads. I'd say to guys, 'Did you have lights where you were at? Did you have plumbing?' That was us."

The conditions were different than your typical stateside construction crew. Their rifles were never out of reach. And, of course, the weather was brutal.

"It was like 110 in the shade," he said. "And during monsoon season, the rain over there. You'd wake up wet and go to bed wet. Your jungle boots filled with water."

Mr. Griffin worked in a group that was a good mix of whites and minorities, from Puerto Ricans to Native Americans to African Americans like himself. Over time, he said, they all considered themselves brothers. They even adopted a dog they made their mascot.

The group also worked closely with the local South Vietnamese population. The men would help the soldiers fill sand bags, while the older women, or "mama sans," often laundered their clothes.

Seeing the Vietnameses' humble lives up close, Mr. Griffin developed a genuine empathy and compassion for them over time.

"It made me realize, thank God for what I got," he said.

Subhead

That being said, some of the very Vietnamese Mr. Griffin worked with during the day would go into the jungle at night and fire upon the Americans.

Listening to bombs going off in the not-so-far distance was a common part of daily life for Mr. Griffin. It was particularly scary at night, when he'd walk the perimeter and any given noise would send him into a panic.

Enhancing his ever-present sense of dread were the occasions when he'd watch blood-soaked infantrymen being loaded onto stretchers and taken away on helicopters.

"That all weighed on your mind," said Mr. Griffin, whose sensitivity to noise kept him from leaving his house on the Fourth of July for several years after his return. "You'd think, 'Are we going to get done with our work, or are we going to get hit?' Because you never knew where the Vietcong was going to hit. They could hit you in the field, or outside the field."

Other things were more quietly menacing, like the mysterious moisture that would accumulate on their helmets. Not until long after his tour did Mr. Griffin realize it was Agent Orange.

As Mr. Griffin's tour wore on, he acquired a short-timer's calendar that he obsessively monitored. He'd hear stories of guys getting killed a day or two before the end of their tour.

He did make it to his departure day, though. "When they said get on that plane and go, I was so happy," he said.

Upon arriving home, the Army tried to get Mr. Griffin to re-enlist. Tempting as it was, the risks of being sent back to 'Nam were too high, so he declined.

Despite the trauma of his tour, the military had done much good for Mr. Griffin. Now, it was time to translate his skills to civilian life.

"I didn't want to take any chances," he said. "I figured I was lucky and would leave it at that."

Education: Attended Scranton Technical High School, then received his GED while in the Army

Professional: Retired bridge construction worker

Military career: An Army veteran, Mr. Griffin served with the United States Army Engineer Construction Agency in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969. He received the Republic of Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal and National Defense Medal.

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